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Unfair
Unfair: The New Science of Criminal Injustice | Adam Benforado
"A law professor sounds an explosive alarm on the hidden unfairness of our legal system." Kirkus Reviews, starred A child is gunned down by a police officer; an investigator ignores critical clues in a case; an innocent man confesses to a crime he did not commit; a jury acquits a killer. The evidence is all around us: Our system of justice is fundamentally broken. But its not for the reasons we tend to think, as law professor Adam Benforado argues in this eye-opening, galvanizing book. Even if the system operated exactly as it was designed to, we would still end up with wrongful convictions, trampled rights, and unequal treatment. This is because the roots of injustice lie not inside the dark hearts of racist police officers or dishonest prosecutors, but within the minds of each and every one of us. This is difficult to accept. Our nation is founded on the idea that the law is impartial, that legal cases are won or lost on the basis of evidence, careful reasoning and nuanced argument. But they may, in fact, turn on the camera angle of a defendants taped confession, the number of photos in a mug shot book, or a simple word choice during a cross-examination. In Unfair, Benforado shines a light on this troubling new field of research, showing, for example, that people with certain facial features receive longer sentences and that judges are far more likely to grant parole first thing in the morning. Over the last two decades, psychologists and neuroscientists have uncovered many cognitive forces that operate beyond our conscious awareness. Until we address these hidden biases head-on, Benforado argues, the social inequality we see now will only widen, as powerful players and institutions find ways to exploit the weaknesses of our legal system. Weaving together historical examples, scientific studies, and compelling court casesfrom the border collie put on trial in Kentucky to the five teenagers who falsely confessed in the Central Park Jogger caseBenforado shows how our judicial processes fail to uphold our values and protect societys weakest members. With clarity and passion, he lays out the scope of the legal systems dysfunction and proposes a wealth of practical reforms that could prevent injustice and help us achieve true fairness and equality before the law. From the Hardcover edition.
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review
gradcat
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Pickpick

#Booked2020 #Winter #LiveAndLearn

I‘d left this book on the shelf for a while, it‘s true. One of the things I treasure about Litsy is that people come up with these great challenge prompts that move you to revisit your library, & to go on and read that book that you‘d been meaning to read...for a while now. The subject of this book is so important to me that it bothers me that I left it so long (pub. 2015). Suffice to say that if you‘ve ever ⬇️

gradcat ⬆️ (cont) worried about the inequality of the US justice system, this book is a real eye-opener. Besides the obvious issues—race, penury, ignorance—there are other areas of inequity that may not ever strike one as such. Have you ever thought of, e.g., the way that a prosecutor or parole board officer can skew results merely by altering a word or two in the presentation of crime statistics? Have you thought about how often mistakes are made in ⬇️ 5y
gradcat ⬆️ (cont) witness identifications? Have you worried about how much our own, mostly unacknowledged, unexplored backgrounds add to problems such as confirmation bias, an inability to believe in false confessions, and a confidence that jurors are properly equipped to make judgments of guilt or innocence? If you‘re troubled by even one of the above issues, this is a book that will interest and enlighten you and your understanding of how justice works. 5y
Cinfhen Wonderful review ~ You raise excellent points. Have you read this phenomenal book👉🏾 5y
See All 12 Comments
alisiakae Great review. I haven‘t heard of this one but it is definitely going on my TBR now. 5y
Geenie Nice👍 review 5y
Crazeedi Very thoughtful review, I'm not sure what i think about this subject, would be worth my time to read, thanks 5y
gradcat @Cinfhen I haven‘t read it. Thanks so much for the recommendation. For myriad reasons, this is a subject near & dear to my heart. I appreciate you comments always, Cindy, thanks so much! ♥️ 5y
gradcat @4thhouseontheleft I bought it right after it came out, and like I noted, I only now got around to it, #blameitonLitsy right? I‘m so glad I did! I hope you like it as well. It reads very quickly—doesn‘t get bogged down in minutia—just some salient points on cognitive psychology & fMRIs. Let me know what you think when you get to it. ♥️ 5y
gradcat @Yoshi-and-a-book Thank you so much for your kind comments! And thanks for stopping by—I always appreciate the comments of others here. ♥️ 5y
gradcat @Crazeedi I love reading & watching about this stuff, because I do very much feel like the US justice system is riddled with gaps in its applications of “fairness.” But it might not be everyone‘s cup of tea, I know. So nice to reconnect with you here on Litsy. I‘m finally feeling better, so hopefully we‘ll connect on here more now. How are you guys doing with #NordicNoir ? 5y
Crazeedi @gradcat I'm doing poorly with the books🙄 5y
gradcat @Crazeedi I‘m sorry to hear that. Is it because you don‘t like the books or are you not feeling well? I hope it‘s not the latter....♥️♥️♥️ 5y
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Hooked_on_books
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#augustphotochallenge day 25. I skipped a few days of this challenge, but as with many others found numerous white spines on my shelves. I wonder why that is? Any standouts here?

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MarlysWS
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Ugh! The research and science this book tells about our judicial system will probably frustrate you to no end, like it did me. Benforado does an outstanding job of writing about the psychology behind our criminal justice system in an approachable and interesting way that isn't too heady or academic.

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MarlysWS
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This book is a wonderful read, but the facts it reveals will frustrate you!

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MarlysWS
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I'll finish this book and start another before the night is through! I'll be sitting inside O'Hare for several long hours.

[DELETED] 2678557665 Don't mind airport delays when there is a good book to read. 8y
MarlysWS Yes, @A-Train! Long periods of uninterrupted reading is absolutely my favorite thing about flying! 8y
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MarlysWS
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"As we wait five or ten or fifty years for a finding to become incontrovertible, people's lives are being upended by legal rules, principles, and norms that have NO SCIENTIFIC BASIS AT ALL." (Caps in place of italics; sorry.)

BookishFeminist This book is great 8y
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MarlysWS
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The introduction to Unfair is basically giving me a heads-up that I'm going to have a knitted stomach, frustrated brain, and aching soul by the time I'm through.

Tav I've been hearing a lot about this idea--that our sense of fairness and our decisions around justice are based on delusion and self-interest. Yikes. 8y
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MarlysWS
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A very successful day at Changing Hands Bookstore, which means they had 1,000 books I wanted and I allowed myself to get three.

OneLitChick You are a model of restraint. 😉 8y
MarlysWS Haha. Well, I was also there last week and bought four books then. I limit myself on books per visit, but I visit pretty often. 😊 8y
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